PHYSICAL THEATRE
Practitioners, inspiration and research
Despite that those companies are all physical theatre, their approach to physical theatre differs from each other. For example, artistic director of Frantic Assembly Scott Graham's main goal was to create a physical language that could translate emotions and words to physical actions. I would say that the Frantic Assembly approach is very physical, acrobatic, and requires a lot of work in pairs or with other actors. On the other hand, Kneehigh uses physical theatre to create a visually appealing performance or experiment with a physical approach to reach various audiences. For example, during the lockdown, they made a video show that did not have any words, only physical movement, placards, sound, and music. Theatre De Complicite uses a very text-based approach, where the motive starts from something written. I had realized that when I experimented with some of the exercises. Also, it requires a lot of devising work; therefore, group work—all mentioned practices made for a group of performers to collaborate.
In the lockdown, our group broadens the research of the companies to get inspired. We were trying to find an answer to the question. Is it possible to make theatre in the current situation? Therefore, we looked at the relatively new for us companies, such as Loose end and Push. Even with those two theatre companies, their approach was different. The Loose end seemed very experimental and home-based; I would rather say more like a training company. Watching their videos made me think that they are learning something new, but it was an excellent way to get inspired and try something new for us. Push theatre company is acrobatic and physical (similar to DV8 or Frantic Assembly). Still, they showed a fantastic example of creating physical theatre without a partner that we looked for a while.
Looking back at all that process of creating and searching and trying new stuff proves how inclusive art is. There is no right or wrong answer; the only solution is to be open, keep looking for new ideas to come out, and then be ready to get inspired by them.
The whole process of creating the show is described in my Logbook (the link for it below this text).
Final performance
Frantic Assembley
Frantic Assembly is an English theatre group famous for physical theatre and devising process.
The group was created in 1994 by Artistic Director and co-founder Scott Graham. In 25 years, Frantic Assembly worked with various writers and collaborated with National Theatre for several productions. The program Ignition is an innovative, free vocational training program for young people, mainly targeting those with little previous experience or access to the arts. Ignition has been unlocking creative potential in young people across the UK for over ten years and aims to make the future of British theatre better, fairer and younger.
The Frantic Method
It is creating series of tasks that break down into building blocks.
Round/By/Through - go around your partner, stand by them or go through them.
Add some weight to exercise.
Find some opportunities to lift the partner.
Experiment with looking at the partner/part of the body/movement or looking away
Choreography does not always have a meaning, but the context affects the meaning of choreography.
During the lockdown, Frantic Assembly presented a digital version of their company where practitioners led workshops and exercises. Those activities helped me to create movements for this piece.
Kneehigh
Kneehigh is a touring theatre company based in Cronwell. It started in the 1980s as an amateur dramatic group and transformed into an individual arty theatre.
During the lockdown, Kneehigh created a short video performance that explores the feelings of being isolated. In the video, they use physical theatre movements mixed with different lights and music.
The companies we inspired during the lockdown were Loose End and Push Theatre.
Loose end is a British physical theatre company. During the lockdown, they continued to be creative and inspired our theatre company (exercise small space).
https://www.facebook.com/looseendproductions/
https://youtu.be/xDBnWmO9-GE
Push Theatre Company
Push is a physical theatre company founded by Darren and Heather Stevenson in 2000 in New York. The main aim was to create a company that pushes the boundaries of conventional theatre. The company uses dance, movements, acrobatic skills, lights, collaborations with musicians, and modern technology to build performance.
https://www.pushtheatre.org/see-us
Theatre De'Complicite
Complicite is a British theatre company that specialized in devising and physical theatre. It was found in 1983 by Simon McBurney, Annabel Arden, and Marcello Magni. Complicité's work has mainly comprised devised theatre pieces, adaptations, and revivals of classic texts.
French practitioner Jacques Leqock influenced the company and its approach to creating theatre. He emphasized the importance of image and movements. Inspired by that, Complicite experiments with light, sound, and script. One of the exercises is to create images over the text and then transform them into physical movements.
https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/theatre-de-complicite-and-storytelling
